This invention relates generally to an electrostatographic printer and copier, and more particularly concerns a cleaning apparatus.
Blade cleaning of photoreceptors (i.e. imaging surfaces or photoconductors) is basically a simple and economical concept that has reliability concerns. Random failures justify the reluctance to include blade cleaners in higher volume machines without, or even with, some back-up cleaning element. Alternative cleaning devices, including magnetic, insulative and electrostatic brush assemblies are invariably installed as the primary cleaning element in higher volume machine applications. Use of devices exhibiting predictive or deterministic failure modes also facilitate identification and resolution of cleaning problems rising from other sources. Manifestations of deterministic cleaning failures include, but are not limited to, photoreceptor filming and cometing. (Cometing is where material, including toner particles, become impacted onto the photoreceptor and adhere with such force that they cannot be removed by the shearing or scraping action of the cleaning element.)
Toner cleaned by the tip of a cleaning blade often piles up on top of the blade and the supporting blade holder. This is often not a problem if the architectural location of the cleaner allows gravity to pull the toner pile down the blade surface. For architectural locations where gravity cannot cause the toner to flow easily across the blade surface toner can build up to the point where an active means is required to maintain toner flow away from the blade tip. These could include thumpers, stirrers, augers, paddlewheels or brushes. These devices can easily take up more space and cost more than the cleaning blade itself.
Therefore, there is a need to reduce cost of these devices and more importantly to reduce the space required to mount these devices.
Briefly stated, and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for removing residual particles from an imaging surface, including a cleaning blade having an edge adapted to remove the residual particles from the imaging surface; an electrode array, coacting with said cleaning blade, for removing residual toner particles in a direction of movement away from the edge of said cleaning blade; and a wave generator for generating a traveling wave pattern for moving residual particles in said direction of movement.